Players are members of a city council vying to become the city's next mayor. Everyone knows that the city council member who can pander to special interests most successfully is guaranteed to win. One city council meeting remains before the election, and the bills that are passed will determine who will lead the city into the future.
Set Up
(1) Choose a City. Choose a locality that all players are familiar with that players will govern. Atlantis, the Vatican, your hometown - the possibilites are endless! Players may also govern a generic city.
(2) Select Bill Proposers. Choose two players who will propose bills.
(3) Get Interest Cards. Tap the Play Now button to receive two Interest Cards. Players do not reveal these Interest Cards to other players, and players may not discuss their interests until after bills are proposed.
Gameplay
(1) Propose Bills. Whenever they are ready, the two bill proposers each propose one bill to the city council. Until the new mayor is elected, the city council's power is unlimited, and it may do anything that is humanly possible. However, each bill may be only one sentence with up to the number of words listed on the chart.
(2) Negotiate Bills. Players may negotiate changes to bills, and bills may be rewritten entirely. However, only the player who proposes a bill may make modifications to it. Negotiated bills remain subject to the word limit. Negotiating time is determined by the number of players, as listed on the chart. Players may openly discuss their interests with other players, but they are not required to do so.
| Players | Word Limit | Negotiating Time |
| 3P | 10 words | 10 min |
| 4P | 11 words | 11 min |
| 5P | 12 words | 12 min |
| 6P | 13 words | 13 min |
| 7P | 14 words | 14 min |
| 8P | 15 words | 15 min |
(3) Vote on Bills. The two bill proposers state the final negotiated versions of their bills. All players vote for one of the two bills by a show of hands. The bill that receives more votes passes, and the bill that receives fewer votes does not pass. If both bills receive the same number of votes, the bill that was proposed first before the negotiation phase wins the vote.
Scoring
Points are awarded starting with the player whose bill passed and proceeding clockwise. For each Interest Card, a player receives a score from 0 to 3 based on how well the bill passed that round meets that interest. All players except the Interest Card holder vote on the number of points awarded for each Interest Card by simultaneously holding up the number of fingers corresponding to the number of points they believe should be awarded.
Before players vote on how many points to award for an interest, the player who holds that Interest Card may try to persuade other players why they deserve more points for that interest.
The number of points awarded is the middle value voted by players or, if there are an even number of voting players, the higher of the two middle values.
Tip: If you vote to give other players 0 points just to improve your chances of winning, people will stop inviting you to parties.
Winning the Game
Players may play one round or multiple rounds. The player with the most points at the end of all rounds wins the game.